What Became Of Fanny?

According to A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & and Other Stage Personnel in London: 1660-1800 1(referred to as ABD), Fanny d'Egville flourished 1779-1800 and the authors suppose that she was the third child of Peter and Sophia d'Egville.

Fanny d'Egville's marriage lines from Saint Anne's Church, Soho, reveal that she wed Stephens Ferté Mikel on 7 February 1799. The date fell on a thursday that year and  it was likely to have been cold. The United Kingdom, like much of Western Europe, was grasped by a severe winter. In Scotland there were heavy snowfalls and frosts - transport was disrupted.

The only people that we can know celebrated the wedding with the couple were Fanny's father, Peter, and her brother James. At first I thought that most of the entry, including the signatures of the bride and groom, were all in the same hand as they are so similar. But there are slight differences - and Fanny's hand seems unsteady where she scratched 'F.' Below them are the autographs of Peter and James.

Neith Peter nor James have included the family name Hervé (Anglicised as Harvey). This is in contrast to the wedding lines of Fanny's niece, Adèle Sophie Bizet d’Egville, in 1835 where one of the witnesses signed with only the name Hervé.

The last performance by Fanny that  ABD can cite was at Covent Garden on 2 May 1800. It is quite possible she continued in the theatre, there is now deeper access to playbills than was possible when ABD was compiled (the final pair of volumes appeared in 1993) and her timeline can probably be established with greater confidence.

Fanny may appear in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses. In 1841 a 50 years old Francis Mikel, teacher of dancing, lives at Haverstock Cottage, Saint Pancras. Dwelling with her are: Ellen Lennox, 9 years of age; Isabella Lennox, 6 years of age; Mary Ann Hogg, 50 years of age; and Mary Ann Allbury, 20 years of age. The latter two women are described as F S, female servants. I suppose of one hires woman who share the same name one needn't worry who arrives when one calls out.

In 1851, the still 50 years old Fanny Mikel is a teacher of dancing and head of the household at 32, Lee Road, in Lee, Lewisham. Ellen and Isabel are now 19 and 16 years old, joined by the 14 years old Fanny Lennox. The domestic needs are satisfied by the 55 years old Jane Cole. Almost as an after thought, the 7 years old Henry Davis is listed as Fanny Mikel's nephew.

Ellen, Isabel and Fanny Lennox appear to be Fanny's granddaughters. Their place of birth is listed as Hampstead. The never quite reliable FamilySearch.org has a baptism record for Ellen Georgina Lennox. She was baptised down by the River Fleet at the Old Church, Saint Pancras on 5 June 1832. Her parents are recorded as Frederick Lennox and Frances Josephine Horne.

From these slight facts alone it cannot be concluded that Fanny Mikel is Fanny d'Egville but the coincidence is compelling. While a woman aged 50 in 1841 would have been too young to marry in 1799 there is no particular reason to believe Fanny was telling the truth to the census enumerator.

A swift search of FamilySearch.org provides corroborating evidence from the Old Church at Saint Pancras. On 26 July 1802 Frances Josephina Mikel was baptised, although her birthdate is recorded as 16 May 1800. Her father is listed as Mark Stephens Mikel and her mother is Frances Ferte. What kind of dance could Fanny have performed on 2 May 1800?

1. P.H. Highfill et al. (1982) A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Southern Illinois University Press ISBN 0-8093-0919-X

Peter d'Egville And The Forty Thieves

While trying to discover which d'Egvilles were living in Paris in the first years of the nineteenth century I found evidence of a collaboration between Michael Kelly and Peter d'Egville in London during 1806. A simple reference to Songs, duets, trios, chorusses, &c. &c. &c. in the grand operatical romance of the Forty thieves : first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, April 8th, 1806 published by C. Lowndes of London possibly provides us with some illumination on Peter's later life.

Michael Kelly
Frontispiece (engraved by Henry Hoppner Meyer (1782?–1847) from a drawing by Abraham Wivell) to Michael Kelly, Reminiscences of Michael Kelly...2 vols (London: Henry Colburn, 1826).

Michael Kelly (1762-1826) was an Irish tenor, composer and theatrical manager. Mozart wrote the roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro for him. He became principal tenor at the Drury Lane theatre and, in 1793, acting-manager of the King's Theatre Haymarket.

The catalogue information needs to be checked because at this date I would have guessed that any collaboration is more likely to be with James. If the attribution is correct then Peter is in London in 1806 and still active as a choreographer. Fewer than one hundred copies of this work have survived in various libraries throughout the world. I've added it to my "to do" list for my next visit to Oxford.

Madame Dagueville's Last Performances

Medea and Jason [1] Thursday 26 August 1784

Almost all of the theatre advertisements from the eighteenth century omit forenames. Consequently we can't be sure of the identity of the Madame Dagueville  who danced in the role of Medea. In this pantomime there would have been a transformation scene in which the characters of Greek mythology were transformed into the Harlequinade. Mother Shipton is said to have ultimately developed into the pantomime dame.

If the dancing master with his practice in Ipswich is d'Egville senior then he must have married at least twice. Mr Dagueville refers to himself as former principal dancer at the Opera House in some of his local advertising material. His wife died in childbirth on Monday 10 May 1779. We know that d'Egville senior continued to be active in London but this doesn't necessarily mean that the two men aren't one individual. Dagueville of Ipswich had a business partner who could have taken over his pupils when he was in town.

The Essex Chronicle 14 May 1779
The British Library Board

Its implausible that the Madame Dagueville who danced in the role of Medea is Catherine Berry (wife of James Harvey d'Egville) as they didn't marry until 1792. Neither can she have been either of Peter's known daughters. Madame Dagueville disappears from the advertisements in the latter half of the seventeen-nineties.

[1] Willaim Van Lennep, The London Stage, 1660-1800 Part 5, 1776-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainment & Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-Reciepts and Contemporary Comment (SIU Press, 1970)

Discord Takes The Lead Of Harmony

The Ipswich Journal 14 October 1786
The British Library Board

I wonder how many children from each school attracted a crowd comprising of almost 200 friends and relations? And talk about pushy parents? This lot jeered the children from the floor. Today we would probably have been able to watch it on YouTube or somebody would have pocketed a couple of hundred quid by sending the video to a television show.

Peter d'Agueville - Car Booter

When I told my colleague Lacyee that I'd found a second advertisement for an auction at Peter d'Agueville's house she said, "He seems a bit of a car booter our Pierre." I wonder whether the first sale even took place because the items listed seem similar but for the absence of a piano.

Ipswich Journal 22 September 1792
The British Library Board

It appears that Mr d'Agueville has by this time already moved on from Hatton Court. However, he has lately occupied the house and isn't the late occupant. It doesn't necessarily even mean that he has left Ipswich.

Ipswich Journal 16 May 1778
The British Library Board

In the Ipswich Journal for Saturday 16 May 1778 advertised the sale of an estate situated in Ipswich. Lot iv is a freehold messuage with a bricked sashed front, "late in the occupation of Mr. Dagueville." Unlike many other d'Egville properties it was obviously unsuitable for a dancing school. Balls were held in the assembly rooms and he seems to have taught at various locations.

If Mr. Dagueville moved from the area of Saint Mary's Church in Stoke Street to Hatton Court then he upped sticks for new home little more that ten minutes walk away.

d'Egvilles of Ipswich

In Tales, Poems and Masonic Papers by Emra Holmes (1877) [1], a commentary on the minutes of the British Union Lodge, Ipswich, records that Peter Dagueville was proposed for initiation on 4 March 1783. The spelling is similar to that used when Peter dAgville signed his name. 

Peter's membership of the British Union Lodge might have only lasted a short time as Holmes says that he has disappeared from the list of members for 1786-87.

In March 1791 Peter announced that he would be leaving Ipswich through an auction advertisement in the Ipswich Journal. Hatton Court still exists, off Tavern Street, leading towards the Churchyard of Saint Mary-le-Tower.

Ipswich Journal 26 March 1791
The British Library Board

However, Peter might not have left Ipswich or if he did so he might have left his progeny behind. In 1809 the marriage of Miss d'Egville of Ipswich to Ensign Deighton of the West Norfolk Militia was announced in the Bury and Norwich Post. Peter is likely to have been too old to be the Peter d'Egville charged with riotous conduct in 1843.

Bury and Norwich Post 26 April 1809
The British Library Board

Interestingly Sophia Hervey d'Egville (Madame Michau) disappears from the English scene in about 1795 to reappear in Paris. We know that there was at least on other d'Egville there in the first decades of the nineteenth century.  


[1] Tales, Poems and Masonic Papers by Emra Holmes (1877)Masonic Papers, Notes on the old minute books of the British Union Lodge, No. 114, Ipswich. A.D., 1762.

I Predict A Riot

On Monday 27 November 1843 Peter d'Egville appeared before the magistrates at Ipswich Town Hall charged with riotous conduct. R.B. Clamp, the Governor of the Ipswich Union House, alleged that Peter had conspired with the other "able-bodied paupers" and refused to obey orders.

Peter is described as "One of the more violent of the party" who "appeared to have seen better days." Peter's age is not given but he is a contemporary of the Peter Harvey Gooding d'Egville who accosted James Hervet d'Egville in Worcester in September 1854. Lacking further identifying information, on the balance of probabilities he might be a member of the d'Egville family who were active in East Anglia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Consequently they are likely to be separate individuals.

Peter justifies his behaviour by complaining about the quality of the food and that Mr. Clamp is robbing the paupers. Their soup was made of herring and sprats' heads and tails, potato peelings, peas and water. It is central to Peter's complaint the paupers who come to beg for soup at the workhouse gate are getting the peas because they sink to the bottom and the inmates are served first from the watery broth.

At first sight such soup might appear disgusting but at the time this "waste" would not be disposed of for composting or the local authority refuse collection. Most households would have used such ingredients to make stock.

In the course of this petty uprising a stick was thrown at a policeman and Peter displayed threatening behaviour towards a porter. It is surprising that he was only bound over and asked to make further complaints to the Board of Guardians. The Great Whip Street Workhouse was an institution intended to accommodate 400 people in an environment of strict discipline. Despite the magistrates apparent support of Mr Clamp their leniency towards Peter in a climate where compliance was paramount perhaps reveals deeper undercurrents.

The Ipswich Journal 2 December 1843
British Library Board